While a handful of MotoGP riders get the lion’s share of media attention, other riders can only wonder what might have been if they had landed in the premier class on more competitive machinery. With five 250cc wins, Randy de Puniet joined the Kawasaki MotoGP team in 2006, and switched to the LCR Honda team after two seasons. In 2011 he managed a season best 6th on the Pramac Ducati, another victim of the bike only Stoner could tame.

Most folks in the MotoGP paddock acknowledge de Puniet’s abilities and raw speed, and he is also as tough as they come, riding around injuries with impressive courage and determination. De Puniet has reunited with the Aspar Team for 2012, and will explore the future of the CRT formula. If the first-year Aprilia-powered Aspar CRT bike is not competitive, it won’t be for de Puniet’s lack of trying.

Scott Jones is a professional photographer who covers MotoGP and WSBK for racing industry clients as well as racing websites and publications in the U.S. and Europe. His online archive is available at Photo.GP, and you can find him on his blog, Twitter, & Facebook.

All images posted, shared, or sent for editorial use or review are registered for full copyright protection at the Library of Congress.

I was going to say something about Lauren, but, since so many other people have, I won’t.

Hadrien

This is where the genius is in this photo.
The depth leads your eyes directly on the very last point, on this one person with an angel face and a look lost into horizon, when everybody else around has their eyes sharp and focused on something.
Physically, Lauren is in the background, Randy in the foreground, but don’t be fooled by physics; On this picture all is reversed : she is the foreground, and Randy is a “too close” background.
You can spend hours analysing this photo, like always with Scott’s photos, and this is what I love about him.

That man deserves a better bike, a “no fear” fighter who’s always on the edge and over.. Joy to watch, entourage included.. :P

Mike

Sorry, Roy. RDP barely deserves this bike. He’s as quick as he is stupid. No one over the past five years in MotoGP has turned more GP bikes into sand-trap yard sales. The upside is that no one is more likely — save Colin Edwards — to qualify CRT bike in the top 10. And given he’s on the Aprilia, he’s likely got a better shot than Colin. So we’ll watch him for a couple of fast laps. He’ll crash. And best of all, the cameras then will linger on a concerned Ms. Vickers (who, it must be said, is RDP’s finest ride to date). Rinse and repeat.

Westward

De Puniet has placed his LCR on the front row on more than a couple of occasion, before being robbed of his seat by Elias and Dorna. If De Puniet were on a factory Yamaha or Honda, he would given Spies, Dovizioso, and Pedrosa a run for their money…

Though like Melandri, the best part of having De Puniet on the grid are the cut-away shots of their girlfriends (Manuela and Lauren)

Stoners wife is a cute girl, but those two are Women in every sense of the word…

MikeD

Can’t see the bike or the rider mentioned on the article…all i see is a good looking tall Mujer looking PornStar CALIENTE.

Roy

@Mike, different people – different manner of appreciating riders.. it’s obvious he’s been overriding the bikes to get good results. crashing a lot yeah.. conservatism would be better for points. Though i’d rather see someone fighting and ride on the edge to advance than accepting a minor position. They always say that it’s easier to learn them to stay seated instead of learning them to ride fast. And it’s no secret that he can be tremendously fast. Grit, guts and spirit, that’s what I like to see..

@Roy I agree. But I wasn’t really responding to your appreciation of Randy. He’s fun to watch. I was responding to “That man deserves a better bike…” The fact is, he doesn’t. Since ’07 no MotoGP rider has crashed out more. (The numbers are on the MotoGP website.) Even Garry McCoy’s crash rate wasn’t this bad. (Another rider who was wonderful to watch.) He’s great for a fast lap and a few interesting moments. And my money would be on him if the races ran three laps. But they don’t. He crashes in the rain, in the dry, when it’s hot, when it’s cold, out front, in the chasing pack and even in the warmup (once). His grit — riding through injuries — are a direct result of his bonehead rides. Maybe a French sandpaper company will want to sponsor his grit. But factory & satellite teams (and their sponsors) like a rider who can finish the races they are supposed to. Really, he’s perfect for a CRT. He’ll put one near the front and make the subclass legit. Then at about lap 12 he’ll provide the track marshals and a few fans with carbon fiber souvenirs.

F1

DePunet TODAY would finish within sight of Stoner, Lorenzo and Dani if he were given a decent mount, Which he NEVER had. He is fast, period. Pushing over the limit in search of speed is far more commendable than accepting 10th place before the lights go out, which is what most other riders on the grid have been doing for years. And, you have to be a major tool to evaluate any rider, save one, based on his results on the verified POS Ducati gp bike for the last 6 years. Randy WAS a habitual crasher, but he always pushed EVERY bike to its limits. Now he’s wasting his talents on a joke CRT bike. Joke because it is nothing but a grid filling half-ass idea from Carmelo to appease the 17 bike minimum rule,,, with nothing but out-classed lapper machines.

Ah RDP. He continues to amaze in his ability to hang onto a ride — not literally of course. He has the most remarkable quick/stupid ratio in the paddock. But rather than say it myself, I’ll leave it to longtime MotoGP reporter Julian Ryder on RPD’s home race this weekend: “Unfortunately, Randy managed to crash before crossing the start line, which must be a record. He got on his spare bike and managed to crash that too. Which must be a record.”